There is no way he is going to CHANEL, I will list the first major impediments that come to mind. Please feel free to add more to let the discussion flow:
- Non compete agreement from LVMH, no way he can leave the third most profitable LVMH brand and start two months after at the most iconic fashion house in the world. CHANEL would need to wait at least one year or pay a lot in terms of fees to direct competitor LVMH to let him start immediately. Only god knows what his job contract actually stated...
- CHANEL side businesses: CHANEL side businesses (makeup, skincare, fine jewelry, high jewelry, watches) are all managed differently by different teams. Karl had no voice in them and so did Virginie (of course...she could barely design ready to wear, imagine fine jewelry). There is no way a freak control like Hedi would let these side jigs running without putting his mouth and words into it. This means CHANEL would need to reposition / fire so many people, some of them just recently hired (just think of the three ladies group in charge of makeup replacing Lucia Pica).
- Leena / Bruno: it is now clear that Leena and Bruno are quite pushy and demanding on what CHANEL should look like and stand for, from artistic direction to merchandise to public relations, leaving little to zero freedom to the creative director. A figure like Hedi would get beef with them at the second meeting with stakeholders.
- Hedi's antics: Hedi is known for having beef with many people / corporations (Conde Nast). CHANEL is a conventional brand, they need to hold runway shows to maintain that superhouse and market leader status. Can you imagine a CHANEL couture show with no Anna Wintour? Come on. We all know that in the fashion world reputation is everything.
Anything else?